Finally Woken
by slincoln
Summary: What if Sydney Bristow's disappearance was due to a more sinister and supernatural force? (Alias Season 3 AU, Post Buffy)
1. Prologue

Finally Woken: An Alias/Buffy crossover

by: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13 

Summary: What if Sydney Bristow's disappearance was due to a more sinister and supernatural force? (Alias Season 3 AU)

Spoilers: Season 2/3 Alias, Post-BtVS

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: Just a bit of fun that's been percolating in my brain for a year or so. I'm sorry to have to say this, but for a firm grasp of the backstory here I suggeset you read my earlier stories The Ghosts That Haunt Me and God Shuffled His Feet. They setup the how and why of this tale to a large degree. Though I hope the work will stand on its own. Finally, while the prologue does encapsulate the end of "The Telling" it is not by the script, in part because I find that boring and in part because I only saw that particular episode when it first aired and my memory ain't that good.

Finally Woken: Prologue

-Hong Kong

Sydney Bristow awoke with a start and looked around. She found herself in a dank alley. Syndey frowned, the last thing she remembered was falling unconcious in her house after she had shot Francie's double.

"So how did I wind up in..." Sydney looked around to get her bearings. "Hong Kong." She staggered down the street until she found a payphone. A quick call to the CIA provided her with directions to a safehouse and instructions to wait for someone to pick her up. Sydney briefly wondered why the operator seemed so surprised to hear her codename, but she was still too disoriented to think about anything deeply.

Sydney found the safehouse without much difficulty. She let herself in and took the opportunity to take stock of her situation. She was wearing different clothes, but that was almost expected. What she did not expect to find was an angry scar running across her abdomen. Beyond that Sydney felt off, like she had drunk too much coffee. She saw things in an almost hyper-realism and every nerve in her body tingled.

Before she could reflect any further on the oddity of the situation the door opened and Michael Vaughn entered the room. "Vaughn!" Sydnay called out. She rushed over to Vaughn and enveloped him in a trmendous bearhug. "Oh Michael I was so afraid I'd never see you again," she said in a rush. "How's Will?" She added when she remebered seeing Will lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Will's fine," Vaughn said. He carefully pushed Sydney away from him. "Sydney, what happened?"

"I came home and I realized that Francie wasn't really Francie. We fought, I killed her, I think. There was a fire. That's all I remember until waking up in that alley."

"This is bad," Vaughn said. "Sydney we have to get you out of here..."

"Vaughn, what's going on?" Sydney asked Vaughn, concern creeping into her voice.

"Sydney, that night...the attack, the fire, that was two years ago."

"That's not possible," Sydney gasped in disbelief.

"There's more, you died. I saw your body myself."

"No, this isn't true. Who the hell are you" Sydney demanded. "Did Sloane put you up to this?"

"Listen to me Sydney, I'm telling you the truth. You died two years ago, and now you're in tremendous danger. You couldn't have know better but calling the CIA was the worst possible move."

"Why? Aren't you CIA?"

Vaughn shook his head, "I work for someone else now. We got lucky that we had an operative inside the CIA communications center that alerted us. Now come on we've already spent too much time talking." There was a pounding on the door. "Too late, Sydney run!" Vaughn shouted as a squad of black-clad commandos poured into the room. "I'll hold them off, get out of here!" Vaughn threw himself at the commandos and dropped the point man with a right hook.

"Forget it, I wouldn't even begin to know where to go for help," Sydney replied as she joined the melee. She kicked a commando in the midsection and watched in amazement as he flew across the room.

"That was new," she said to herself as she dodged an oncoming rush from another commando. Sydney found that her reaction time was quicker than she ever remebered, even in her disoriented state. She grabbed the arm of a commando and flipped him around. The soldier slammed into the ground and lay still.

Before Sydney had a chance to take down any more opponenets she felt something prick her in the neck. She reached up and pulled out a small dart. The room started to swirl as the tranquelizer took hold. She looked over at Vaughn and saw that he was already unconcious and being tied up. "I wonder why Vaughn's wering a wedding band," was the last concious thought Sydney had before the world faded to black.

-to be continued-

end notes: We're looking at about eight real chapters with an update schedule of hopefully two weeks per, but work and life might intrude there. Hope everyone enjoys.

-sam 1/3/2005  



	2. Chapter 1

Finally Woken: An Alias/Buffy crossover

by: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13 

Summary: What if Sydney Bristow's disappearance was due to a more sinister and supernatural force? (Alias Season 3 AU)

Spoilers: Season 2/3 Alias, Post-BtVS

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: Just a bit of fun that's been percolating in my brain for a year or so. I'm sorry to have to say this, but for a firm grasp of the backstory here I suggeset you read my earlier stories The Ghosts That Haunt Me and God Shuffled His Feet. They setup the how and why of this tale to a large degree. Though I hope the work will stand on its own.

Finally Woken: Chapter One

-Buenos Aires

A cell phone rang in a darkened apartment in Buenos Aires. "Hello?" A woman asked into the phone.

"Sydney Bristow appeared in Hong Kong," an electronically distorted voice said into the phone.

"Does he know yet?"

"Bristow immediately called the CIA. She is currently in their custody."

"Where are they taking her?"

"Los Angeles first, but in all likelihood she will be transferred to Washington, and out of your reach."

"Very well. What do you expect of me?"

"Just that you do what you were already planning on doing." The line went dead.

Irena Derevko walked out of the shadows in the apartment and stared out the window at the lights of Buenos Aires. She dialed a number from memory. "It's me..."

-Los Angeles-

Sydney awoke with a groan and found herself lying in a familiar holding cell. She tried to shake the fog from her mind as she sat up on the bare cot. "What the hell is going on here?" Sydney asked herself as she tried to piece things together. She closed her eyes and ran through a series of exercises her father taught her to enhance her memory.

She remembered the fire, and the horror she felt at having to fight someone with Francie's face. The grief over the loss of her friend stabbed at her but she forced it back. There would be a time to grieve later. She focused in on the last moment before she passed out. Just on the fringe of memory she recalled feeling something as she lay there. It had felt like a rush of power, but just as soon as it hit she had lost her grip on consciousness. There was something else though, a cold feeling of dread that was unrelated to the near death experience. Sydney had no proof, but was sure that was the cause of her time loss.

Sydney's musings were cut short by the arrival of Assistant Director Kendall. "I never thought I'd see you in this cell Agent Bristow," said.

"Assistant Director Kendall, what is going on?"

"What puzzles me most is why do it?" Kendal continued on ignoring Sydney. "You know your mother already tried this trick with us, why turn yourself in now."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Where's Vaughn, or my father. I demand to speak with them."

"Michael Vaughn is being interrogated in another CIA facility. As for your father, I was going to ask you the same question."

"Director Kendall, I swear to you, I have no clue what's going on," Sydney insisted. "The last thing I remember was fighting Francine's double two years ago."

"Yes, about that. It seems you lied to us Agent Bristow. That wasn't a double you killed, but the real Francine Calfo. You knew about the doubling technology and reasoned that we would go along with your claims that she was a double trying to spy on you."

"It wasn't the real Francie," Sydney growled. "I would never kill one of my friends."

"Oh I know all about what you could and could not do Agent Bristow. Your ability to compartmentalize, to do whatever it takes to complete your mission."

"I will not stand here and listen to these baseless accusations," Sydney shot back. "I know what happened in that house two years ago and I can prove it."

"Be my guest, we have a wealth of forensic evidence that says otherwise, not to mention motive. We learned the truth Agent Bristow, about you and your father. You obviously knew how close we were to uncovering that information and panicked."

"My father and I are loyal operatives of the CIA," Sydney protested.

"You and your father were working with Irena Derevko to gather Rambaldi artifacts as part of a plot hatched shortly before Derevko faked her death. Everything you and your father have done since then, from joining SD-6 to working with the CIA has been to further that agenda."

"That's absurd!" Sydney shouted. "Irena Derevko betrayed both me and my father. The thought that we would be working with her is laughable at best."

"A smokescreen to throw us off your trail," Kendall replied.

"How long did we work together?" Sydney asked. "You should know that I'm not a traitor."

"That's exactly why I don't trust you. You spent two years evading Alliance counter intelligence. If you could fool them you could fool us."

"When was I anything but loyal to the CIA?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Kendall replied.

"Director Kendall, I don't know who's been feeding you these lies, but I assure you they are false."

"The matter's out of my hands Agent Bristow, the Director is going to personally oversee your interrogation. You're leaving for DC immediately." A squad of heavily armed marshals appeared behind Kendall. "And despite your special abilities I recommend you comply. Your kind can't outrun bullets."

"What are you talking about?" Sydney demanded. As the cell opened and one of the marshals moved to shackle her. Sydney jerked out of the marshal's grasp and sent the man flying into the cell wall. Before Sydney could take advantage of the opening two of the marshals jabbed her with stun batons. She fell to her knees, clutching her sides in pain.

"I warned you not to resist Ms. Bristow," Kendal instructed, "and next time my men will use lethal measures." He watched as Sydney was shackled and lead out of the cell. Kendal shook his head and returned to the communications center.

Sydney was loaded into the back of a windowless armored van. She was chained to her seat and two guards sat across from her with assault rifles trained on her. The van rumbled out of the Operations Center and pulled into the heavy LA traffic.

The van came to a sudden stop, causing the guards watching over Sydney to tumble to the floor. Sydney guessed what was about to happen next and put her head down and covered her ears. As she expected a powerful explosion ripped off the doors and filled the van's interior with smoke. A masked figure backlight by the Californian sun entered the van through the ruined door. The guards were still stunned from the explosion and slow to react as the stranger shot them with a tranquilizer gun.

"Who are you?" Sydney asked as her rescuer retrieved the key to the shackled and unlocked Sydney.

"Don't worry Sydney it's me," Irena Derevko said as she pulled off her ski mask.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Sydney asked in amazement.

"There's no time to explain. Kendall will have a strike team here in minutes. We have to leave. Now!" Derevko grabbed Sydney by her arm and dragged her out of the van to a waiting blue sedan. Derevko shoved Sydney into the passenger's seat and sped away. 

Derevko drove until they were deep in the desert, just past Barstow, before pulling off the highway. They bounced along a dirt road until finally coming to a stop next to an abandoned farm house. "This is as far as I can take you," Derevko announced. "There are fresh cloths, ID, and a car waiting for you here. I suggest you find someplace safe and hide for a while."

"I'm not going anywhere until I get some answers," Sydney told Derevko as they got out of the car. "One minute I'm fighting Francie's double and the next it's two years later."

"And you have no memory of the intervening time?" Derevko asked.

"None," Sydney replied. "Which is why you need to start talking."

Derevko sighed, "Very well. It all started shortly after you went missing. Arvin Sloane turned himself in to the CIA. I do not know what he said to them but he was granted full clemency for any crimes he committed as head of SD-6."

"He must have given the government a Rambaldi artifact in exchange, but even that doesn't begin to cover Arvin Sloane's crimes. The man is a mass murderer, he doesn't deserve any sort of deal."

"There's more, the government then claimed that Sloane was also a double agent. That he never truly betrayed the United States. That the whole while he was working to bring down the Alliance and secure Rambaldi artifacts for the United States."

"And that Dad and I were really working for you," Sydney added bitterly. "I learned that nonsense from Kendall." Sydney fell silent for a moment. "Let me guess, Sloane is the new CIA director."

"As much as I wish it wasn't so, that is the case."

"How did he do it? What could possibly be worth that much?" Sydney wondered.

"I do not know," Derevko admitted, "But it has to be more than just a Rambaldi artifact. Sloane found something that gave him power. He now runs the US government from the shadows, manipulating it to serve his agenda."

"Which is what exactly?"

"The acquisition of power by any means possible, but primarily through unlocking the secrets of Milo Rambaldi." Derevko paused. "There is something else Sloane is after, something old yet completely new."

"What?" Sydney asked.

"Something happened while you were gone, the night you vanished in fact. The town of Sunnydale California was wiped off the face of the Earth. You're familiar with Sunnydale, are you not?"

"More than I ever wanted to," Sydney replied. Memories of her previous encounters with things that went bump in the night passed through her mind. "Most of the nightmares I have that don't involve Arvin Sloane are related to what I learned in Sunnydale, but what does the destruction of Sunnydale have to do with Arvin Sloane."

"I'm getting to that. The same day Sunnydale was destroyed girls and young women around the world began to exhibit extraordinary powers, the powers of the Slayer."

"How is that possible. No, scratch that, how do you know about the Slayer?"

"I know because for years both the Soviet and United States governments tried to acquire an active Slayer. That was a hidden agenda of both Project Christmas and it's KGB equivalent, to target potential Slayers. The thinking was a properly indoctrinated Slayer would be an ideal covert agent."

"But the problem was that there was only one Slayer active at a time. If there are more Sloane can create a private army of Slayers loyal to him," Sydney realized.

"He already has begun collecting new Slayers for training," Derevko confirmed. "There is more though. Sydney, Rambaldi was also interested in the Slayer. His writings often mention the 'Chosen One,' a common code word for the Slayer."

"That's not right," Sydney objected. "You said it yourself, I'm the Chosen One in Rambaldi's prophecy, and I'm not the Slayer."

"You weren't...until now, your latent ability was activated with the rest of the potential slayers two years ago."

"That's not possible, from everything I was told I'm too old to be a Slayer," Sydney protested. She did not want to be a Slayer, not on top of everything else in her life.

"I know and I don't fully understand that either. It probably is related to Rambaldi in some fashion. The how is unimportant because you are, surely you've felt stronger since you awoke in Hong Kong."

Sydney nodded, "I have, I can't describe it precisely, but I have." She thought back to Hong Kong and how she managed to toss grown men around like rag dolls. "So what does Sloane want from me?"

"I'm not sure, but I do know this. Your disappearance broke Rambaldi's prophecies and cleared the way for Sloane's rise to power. Now that you're back, and especially with your new abilities, perhaps you can undo some of the damage Sloane caused."

"Wait, what about Dad, or Vaughn?"

"Jack went into hiding before Sloane took power, I don't know where he is. Vaughn is being held in a CIA detention center. He probably is scheduled to be executed, that is how Sloane has dealt with others who have crossed him."

"We have to rescue him," Sydney said. "I know it's a trap, but I can't let Vaughn die because he tried to help me."

Derevko smiled, "I'm sure if anyone can free Mr. Vaughn it will be you." Derevko took a breath. "However you will have to do it without my help. This is as far as I can take you Sydney, from here on out you are on your own."

"I can't break Vaughn out of a CIA detention facility by myself, I'm going to need help."

"Let me give you some advice Sydney. Go to Cleveland."

"Cleveland? What's there?"

"Another Hellmouth, and allies. Good luck Sydney, and be careful." Derevko climbed into her sedan and sped off down the dirt road. Sydney stood in front of the abandoned farmhouse and watched the cloud of dust recede into the horizon.

-Langley, VA-

Arvin Sloane sat at his desk in his office at CIA Headquarters. He picked up his phone after the second ring. "Hello. Yes, I see. No that's alright. I will take care of things personally from here on." He returned the handset to the receiver. "That was Assistant Director Kendall. It seems that Irena Derevko liberated her daughter from the convoy bringing Sydney to Washington." Sloane said aloud. He glanced down at his hands momentarily. "I should have foreseen that Derevko would take such an action, she has done similar things in the past."

"Don't blame yourself Arvin, you took all the necessary precautions. Derevko is a shrewd operative, sometimes these things happen." Emily Sloane walked out of the shadows of the office and stood behind Sloane. "Do you want me to handle the problem?"

"Sydney will not be fooled by your subterfuge," Sloane replied. "She has far too strong a mind for that, not to mention that she has already met you once before, and now that she has been activated I'm afraid she's too great a liability to ignore."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

He looked up at Emily. "You know, I wish you wouldn't do that."

"Why, does this face trouble you too much?" Emily asked.

Sloane drew in a breath. "No, it's just irksome."

"You want to touch me, don't you Arvin." A hand ran down Sloane's face, fingertips passing through his flesh.

Sloane jerked his head back. "You're not Emily," he rasped.

"No, I'm not," the First admitted. "But I'm the only way you will ever see your dearly departed wife ever again. Not to mention that we still have our agreement to conclude, or are you developing cold feet Arvin?"

Sloane squared his shoulders, "Of course not, but could you at least wear the face of someone I didn't like?"

The First laughed, "I'll take that under advisement, but you never answered my question.

"I'll call in a specialist," Sloane replied. "One who can deal with Sydney's...new abilities. Don't worry, Sydney Bristow will not be a problem much longer."

-to be continued-

end notes: Ok, so two weeks was a lie, what can I say work kicked my ass. Chapter Two's being beaten into submission as we speak. Thanks go to the good Mr. Payne for beating my grammar into something resembling sense. Oh, and Majin I agree with you 100; I'll be sure to find some worthy opponents for Sydney ;)

-sam 2/13/2005  



	3. Chapter 2

Finally Woken: An Alias/Buffy crossover

by: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13 

Summary: What if Sydney Bristow's disappearance was due to a more sinister and supernatural force? (Alias Season 3 AU)

Spoilers: Season 2/3 Alias, Post-BtVS

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: Just a bit of fun that's been percolating in my brain for a year or so. I'm sorry to have to say this, but for a firm grasp of the backstory here I suggeset you read my earlier stories The Ghosts That Haunt Me and God Shuffled His Feet. They setup the how and why of this tale to a large degree. Though I hope the work will stand on its own.

-Cleveland

Sydney drove through the streets of Cleveland in her newly acquired sedan. Lying on the seat next to her was a list of all of the occult shops in town. Her mother mentioned there was a Hellmouth in Cleveland. Sydney reasoned that the allies her mother told to look for would probably have knowledge of, or be involved in, the occult. Although the greasy owner of the last shop promised her a fantastic deal on love potions, so far nothing has panned out.

She found the next store on the list in a converted warehouse far away from the bustle of downtown. The shop, which went by the unassuming name of "Practical Magical Supplies," shared space with a martial arts school that, according to its sign, was geared towards women's self-defense. A stream of young girls leaving the dojo only served to reinforce the point.

Sydney pushed open the shop's door and stepped inside. The interior of the store looked both new and old at the same time. New because Sydney could see signs of recent construction work, and old because there was a musty feel to the air, like an seldom visited library. As far as Sydney could tell she was the only person in the store. She wound her way through shelves full of spell components until she finally found the sales counter. A redheaded woman stood behind the counter with her back to Sydney.

"Uh, excuse me," Sydney said. "I was wondering if you could help me?" 

The redhead turned around, "How can I help you...wait, I know you," Willow Rosenberg said.

"Sydney Bristow," Sydney replied. "We met three years ago in Sunnydale, I helped you when Buffy Summers was kidnapped by SD-6."

"And then we helped your father rescue you from the First in Sri Lanka, right, I remember you." Willow added. "What brings you to Cleveland?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Sydney replied. "Last I knew you were living in California."

"What rock have you been hiding under?" Willow asked. "Sunnydale was destroyed two years ago."

"That's sort of why I'm here. Something...happened to me two years ago, and I'm looking for answers."

"What sort of something?" Willow asked carefully.

"Several somethings actually, but it's a long story. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

"Sure, we've got a room in the back, and oh, I'll get Buffy and Giles, they'll want to hear this too." Willow stepped out from behind the counter and lead Sydney into a small office. 

Giles was already in the office staring at expense reports. "Willow," he asked without looking away from his paperwork. "Just how much did we pay for that last batch of nightshade? Because I think that bloody supplier is trying to overcharge us again." He glanced up and saw Sydney standing next to Willow. "Oh hello, who are you?"

"Giles, you remember Sydney Bristow," Willow prompted.

"Yes, of course, the CIA agent," Giles stood up and held out his hand. "How are you Miss Bristow?"

"I won't lie, I've been better," Sydney replied as she shook Giles's hand. The Englishman winced from the strength of Sydney's grip. His eyes narrowed slightly as if he was considering something.

"Willow, would you please get Buffy. I'm sure she will want to talk to Miss Bristow." Willow nodded and walked out of the office. "Please, have a seat." Giles motioned for Sydney to sit in one of the office's tattered chairs. 

"To answer your question, yes I am," Sydney told Giles as she sat down. "And no, I don't know how it happened."

"How did you know I was going to ask if you were an activated Slayer?"

"The way you reacted when we shook hands. I'm sorry about that by the way, I'm not used to being a superhero."

"Quite alright, I've dealt with enough Slayers over the years that I've grown accustomed to it. I assume your Slayer abilities are a recent manifestation then?"

"In a manner of speaking," Sydney admitted. "I take it you know how it happened."

"Not you specifically, but yes, basically I know," Giles replied. "Willow unlocked the latent abilities of every potential Slayer in an attempt to prevent the First Evil from unleashing Hell on Earth."

"It never gets tired of that," Sydney observed.

"That's right, you encountered the First."

"Yes in Sri Lanka. If it wasn't for Buffy and Willow I don't think I would have survived the meeting."

The office door opened and Buffy entered the room with Willow close behind. "Sydney hi," Buffy said. "When Willow told me you were here I almost didn't believe it. How's the spy business?" Buffy walked over to Sydney and the two shared a quick hug.

"Not well, that's why I'm here," Sydney replied.

"It seems that Miss Bristow is now a Slayer," Giles informed Buffy.

"What?" Buffy exclaimed. "That's not possible, is it?"

"Apparently it is because I am," Sydney told Buffy. To emphasize her point Sydney grabbed Buffy's arm and flipped her using a Judo move. Buffy flew through the air and landed on the ground with a crash.

"Ow, ok I believe you," Buffy said as she stood up. "Giles, explanation please."

"I'm afraid I have none," Giles replied. "By all accounts someone Miss Bristow's age should not be a potential Slayer. She might have been one at one point, but not now."

"I'm identified in the writings of Milo Rambaldi as 'the Chosen One,' could that have anything to do with it?" Sydney asked Giles.

"My familiarity with Rambaldi is not what it should be," Giles said. "It could, but that is just speculation on my part." 

"Why are you coming to us now?" Willow asked. "The potentials were activated two years ago."

"That's the other reason I'm here. I'm missing those two years."

"A temporal slip, fascinating," Giles muttered. He stood up from his desk and began examining a large bookshelf. "Please, continue."

"Ok, before I tell you anything more I have to warn you this might sound a little weird," Sydney caught herself. "On second thought it will probably sound perfectly normal to you. It all started shortly after we dismantled SD-6." Sydney then described the events leading up to her disappearance. She made sure to leave out as little as possible. Her 5 years with the CIA taught her that it was often the little things in a debriefing that really made a difference. She knew she was violating at least a half dozen laws and regulations by doing so, but, in light of everything that has happened, she figured it was a minor detail. "So the next thing I know two years have gone by and everything's different. Vaughn's imprisoned and I'm on the run. I didn't have anywhere else to go so I came here."

"You suspect something supernatural was behind your disappearance?" Giles asked as he looked through a book.

"It would explain my memory loss," Sydney replied. 

Giles set his book down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Quite, but proving it will be difficult. We would need a spell that detects the use of magic, or a mystical object that detects spectral energy. Unfortunately, no such spell or object exists."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Finding out who was behind your disappearance would prove more productive."

"I know who, the problem is figuring out how he did it."

"Who?"

"CIA Director Arvin Sloane," Sydney replied.

"Wait," Buffy interjected, "is this the same sleazeball who kidnapped me and then tried to sell me to Wolfram and Hart? How'd he get to be CIA director?"

"He concocted some crazy story about never really being evil and everyone seems to believe it."

"A glamour," Willow said, "Giles, I bet he's using a glamour. That would explain how he conned the rest of the government."

"It would, and there are spells that can move a person through time, but it takes a tremendous amount of dark energy to perform them, not to mention a glamour of this scope. It's more power than anyone human can channel in fact. It would take a being from one of the lower planes...oh dear..." Giles trailed off.

"Giles, what is it?" Buffy asked.

"If Mr. Sloane has somehow managed to harness the power of a hell beast then he will be a very dangerous adversary," Giles replied.

"Well duh, I thought there was something Apocalyptic as well."

"If he were to lose control of his pet demon that might very well be the case," Giles pointed out.

"There's something else," Sydney said.

"There always is," Buffy said fatalistically.

"Sloane is after Slayers, all the major players are. A trained operative with the powers of a Slayer? That's every spymaster's dream."

"Will, book me a flight to DC. I'm going to teach Mr. Sloane a lesson in meddling in my affairs," Buffy growled.

"That would be a really bad idea," Sydney pointed out.

"Miss Bristow's right," Giles added. "You can't charge headlong into CIA headquarters."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Let me see what contacts I still have," Sydney said. "Once we know more about what Sloane's up to we can figure out how to deal with him. In the meantime I'm going to need your help rescuing Vaughn."

"You want us to break into a top secret prison?" Willow asked.

Sydney shook her head, "No, I just need some supplies," She paused. "And a place to train, I need to get acclimated with my new...abilities."

"Oh I'll be more than happy to help you out on that score," Buffy said. "I owe you for that judo throw."

"Aren't you worried they'll kill Vaughn before you get to him?" Willow asked.

Sydney shook her head, "They won't kill Vaughn, if they do that they won't have any bait for their trap."

Before anyone could reply Xander burst into the room. "Hey Giles, there are a couple of suits looking for Sydney Bristow, we haven't seen her in years..." Xander caught sight of Sydney. "Oh, hey Sydney, what's up?"

"They must have tracked the car I was driving," Sydney reasoned.

"Do you need a place to hide?" Buffy asked.

"I'd ask for someone to explain this to me, but I think that would take too long," Xander quipped.

The office door burst open. A man and a woman, both dressed in dark suits, walked into the room. The woman was a short blonde with a haughty expression. The man Sydney recognized as Weiss.

"Sydney Bristow, you're under arrest," the blonde said, her voice had just a trace of a British accent.

"Weiss? How can you do this?" Sydney asked.

"Just come quietly and there won't be any trouble," Weiss said.

Sydney sighed, then nodded. "I'm innocent you know," she told Weiss as she held out her wrists.

"Come on Bristow, I'm not stupid." Weiss grabbed her arm and handcuffed her wrist behind her back.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," the blonde said, "but this woman is a danger to national security."

"And you think that gives you the right to come in her and act all Gestapo?" Willow demanded. "Sydney's an American citizen, she has rights you know."

"Ms. Bristow is a wanted criminal," the blonde replied. "If you want we can arrest you and find out what a known terrorist is doing in your establishment."

"Willow, don't worry, I'll be fine," Sydney assured Willow. "Just look after my stuff, I left it in my car."

The blonde glared at Willow as Weiss escorted Sydney out of the office. "It would be wise if you never mentioned this to anyone," she informed Buffy and the others before following Weiss out of the office.

"So is that it? Are we just going to let them take Sydney like that?"

"Hang on Will, I think Sydney was trying to tell us something," Buffy said. "Let's check out her car."

"And while we're doing that would somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" Xander demanded.

Willow filled Xander in on what he missed while Buffy searched through Sydney's car. "So not only is Sydney a Slayer but she's wanted by the government for crimes she didn't commit. Throw in a one-armed man and you've got the pilot for a great TV show," Xander quipped.

Sydney left the car unlocked and Buffy was searching through the trunk. "Hey Willow, check this out." Buffy showed Willow a small, handheld computer.

Willow took the device from Buffy. "Cool." She pressed a button and the computer flared to life. "Hey, I know what this is." She held the computer up for Buffy to see. "It's a receiver for a tracking device. Sydney must have a bug on her."

"So we can track her?"

"Sure, this thi g uses GPS so it should be a snap. Do you think Sydney meant for us to find it?"

"I know it, doesn't it seem like a suitably spy thing to do?"

"We'd better hurry, there's no telling when those goons will find the tracker," Xander pointed out.

"Then we don't have a moment to spare. Xander, you drive, Willow, handle the navigation. I'll take care of things once we track them down."

"Things had seemed a little too quiet, hadn't they," Xander commented to Willow as the ran to his car.

"Just a little," Willow agreed.

-Washington DC

Sloane stood in front of a bank of monitors in a darkened briefing room. A surveillance photo of Sydney was being displayed on the monitors. 

"This is Sydney Bristow," Sloane began. "A former CIA operative, Miss Bristow was a vital asset in my work taking down the Alliance two years ago. What I did not know at the time was that she was working with this man."

Sloane advanced his presentation and a picture of Jack Bristow appeared. 

"Her father Jack Bristow, also an undercover CIA operative and one my closest friends. The Bristows were part of a criminal organization run by Irina Derevko, Sydney Bristow's mother and a former KGB operative. "A picture of Irina Derevko flashed onto the screen. 

"Derevko used the Bristows to acquire Rambaldi artifacts in an attempt to advance an as yet unknown end game that revolves around the Rambaldi prophecy. We believed Sydney Bristow to be dead, killed in a fire that claimed the life of her roommate two years ago. Yesterday however we intercepted a communication between Miss Bristow and one Michael Vaughn." 

"Mr. Vaughn, also a former CIA, was Miss Bristow's handler when she worked for SD-6. Sydney recruited him into Derevko's organization. I should at this time mention that Derevko viciously murdered Vaughn's father. That alone should tell you something of Vaughn's character and Sydney Bristow's powers of persuasion."

"We tasked a team to Hong Kong and they apprehended both Bristow and Vaughn. Unfortunately Derevko freed Bristow while she was in transit to Washington. As of this moment we do not know where Sydney Bristow is, but there is a very strong chance she will attempt to retrieve Mr. Vaughn from our custody. The two were very close."

"There's one other thing," Sloane said as he concluded his briefing. "Observations while she was in custody indicate that Sydney Bristow is an activated Slayer. The combination of Slayer ability and her CIA training make her quite possibly the most dangerous individual on the planet. Your mission will be to neutralize this threat in any fashion you see fit. Technical Section will provide you with your Op-Tech. Do you have any questions?"

"Take down a rogue agent with Slayer powers? No sweat Mr. S," Faith said. She was sitting on the opposite end of the room from Sloane with her feet propped up on the table. Faith stood up and sauntered over to where Sloane was standing. "So you think she's going to go after this guy?" She indicated the picture of Vaughn that was on one of the monitors.

"I know Sydney Bristow as well as anyone. She will try to mount a rescue," Sloane assured Faith.

"Well I can see why, the guy's a hottie," Faith commented. "This feels good, you know," Faith said as she turned to face Sloane. "Stopping the bad guys, protecting the country. It's nice to work for the good guys for a change."

"Yes, it is isn't it," Sloane replied with a smile.

-to be continued-

Authors Notes: Yes, dreadfully late, I just haven't like working on this thing recently. Chapter 3 is coming along sentence by torturous sentence. It will get done, though. Thanks for reading.

-sam 4/3/2005  



	4. Chapter 3

Finally Woken: An Alias/Buffy crossover

by: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: What if Sydney Bristow's disappearance was due to a more sinister and supernatural force? (Alias Season 3 AU)

Spoilers: Season 2/3 Alias, Post-BtVS

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: Just a bit of fun that's been percolating in my brain for a year or so. I'm sorry to have to say this, but for a firm grasp of the backstory here I suggeset you read my earlier stories The Ghosts That Haunt Me and God Shuffled His Feet. They setup the how and why of this tale to a large degree. Though I hope the work will stand on its own.

* * *

Finally Woken: Chapter Three

-Cleveland

Weiss and the unknown blonde brought Sydney to an industrial park on the outskirts of Cleveland. They drove into a darkened warehouse and stopped the car. "Get out," the blonde told Sydney.

"So this is it?" Sydney asked Weiss. "You're going to just shoot me here."

"Get out of the car Sydney," Weiss replied. "We're not going to shoot you. There's someone who wants to see you."

"You know these handcuffs won't stop me from kicking your ass if I wanted too," Sydney warned Weiss as she got out of the car.

"You could've done that before you vanished," Weiss said as he unlocked Sydney's handcuffs.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sydney asked.

"I told you, someone wants to talk to you," Weiss pointed at the other end of the warehouse where a figure stood in the shadows.

Sydney walked over to the darkened figure. Her heart leapt into her throat when the man stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello Sydney," her father said, emotion tingeing his normally stoic voice.

Sydney rushed over and hugged her father. Seeing him standing there, looking unchanged from how she remembered, he seemed like a touchstone to her old life. A life that seemed an eternity ago even though it was only a few days in the past from Sydney's perspective. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, I had Weiss and Ms. Reed track you down. Sloane's looking for you Sydney; it's not safe out there. We felt the subterfuge was necessary if you were already being held by his people."

Sydney turned and faced Weiss. "So you're not working for Sloane?"

"Why would I work for an evil creep like that?" Weiss asked rhetorically. "I quit the CIA as soon as he took over. Damn Sydney it's good to see you again." Weiss and Sydney shared a hug. "Oh, right, introductions. Sydney Bristow, Lauren Reed. Lauren Reed, Sydney Bristow."

"Hello Sydney," Lauren said. "I've heard a lot about you from Eric and Michael." She held out her hand to Sydney.

"Only good things I hope," Sydney said as she shook Lauren's hand. She could sense hostility from the other woman, but she had no clue why that might be.

Weiss could see the confusion in Sydney's eyes "Lauren and Vaughn are..." his voice trailed off as he searched for the right word.

"We're married," Lauren said for Weiss.

"Oh," was all Sydney could say. Her mind was unable to process the information.

"Michael didn't mention it?"

Sydney shook her head. "There was no time. Sloane's men found us shortly after he arrived."

"I told him he shouldn't go, but he wouldn't listen," Lauren said, the bitterness in her voice was evident.

"We can talk about this later," Jack said sharply. "Right now we have to leave. There's a chance Sloane knows where we are and we need to get to a more secure location. We can get Sydney caught up on world events and decide what to do about Vaughn then."

"Uh, we might have a problem there," Sydney said. "I was meeting with Buffy Summers and her friends when Weiss 'arrested' me, and since he did such a good acting job they think I've been kidnapped by Sloane. I'm willing to bet they tried to follow us."

"Were you followed?" Jack asked Weiss.

"No, of course not," Weiss replied.

Just then the door to the warehouse crashed open and a very annoyed looking Buffy entered the building. "Alright, you spy-holes, let Sydney go now!"

Sydney held up the small tracking device she had hidden in her pocket. "They didn't have to follow the car, I had this."

Buffy ran over to where Sydney and the others were standing. "Sydney, are you alright?" She asked. Buffy caught sight of Jack. "Hey wait, you're Sydney's father, aren't you? Why would you want to kidnap her?"

"I don't," Jack replied. "We did not kidnap Sydney. Mr. Weiss and Ms. Reed work for me, not the government."

"So Sydney was never really in any danger."

"Not from us."

"Uh, sorry about the door."

"Oh, that's ok, it's not our building anyway. Hi, I'm Eric Weiss, master spy." Weiss said to Buffy. Sydney couldn't help but smile at Weiss's attempt to charm Buffy.

"Buffy Summers, and you're not much of a master spy if little old me was able to track you down?"

"Everyone's entitled to an off day," Weiss offered.

Buffy laughed, "Nice try, but I'm not buying."

"I am good at my job," Weiss grumbled, "Syd, back me up here."

"We were just leaving," Jack said, cutting off the byplay between Buffy and Weiss. "You and Miss Rosenberg, who I assume is just outside, are welcome to accompany us."

"Really?" Buffy asked in amazement. "You aren't going to be all stuffy and say this is no place for a civilian?"

"In the first place we are all civilians here," Jack replied. "And secondly this involves you just as much as it does Sydney. We really do have to hurry though, there is only a small window for our plane to take-off without detection."

Willow poked her head into the empty door jam, "Is it safe to come in?" She called out.

"It's fine Will," Buffy told her friend.

Willow walked into the warehouse, "Hi Mr. Bristow, long time no see."

"Hello Miss Rosenberg, a pleasure to see you again."

"So, uh, what's going on?" Willow asked.

"You and Miss Summers are going to come with us."

"There's evil afoot and you need our help?" Willow asked. "Of course there is, evil's always afoot, you have to wonder though, what if evil ever thought of being aleg, you know, just to liven things up...and I'm talking to a bunch of people I don't even know."

"The plane is right this way," Jack said, unfazed.

"Well alright then."

* * *

"Here is what we know," Jack said as the private jet lifted off the ground. He sat in the front of the richly appointed jet. "Two years ago Sloane made an alliance with the being you call the First Evil. The First gave Sloane access to the secrets of Milo Rambaldi and in exchange Sloane became the First's servant on this plane of existence."

"Why am I not surprised that a creep like Sloane would make a deal with the First," Buffy observed.

"It's a regular match made in Hell," Sydney agreed.

"The precise details are still unknown to us," Jack continued, "but it is through this alliance that Sloane obtained his current position as CIA Director, and the considerable influence he holds on the administration."

"The Agency changed after Sloane took over," Weiss added from his seat behind Buffy and Willow. "Everybody else didn't seem to notice, but Vaughn, Dixon, myself and a few others who worked to bring down SD-6 and the Alliance did. We knew what Sloane was really about and we weren't about to hang around and do his bidding so we quit the CIA."

"We're part of an organization known as the Trust," Jack said. "It's a loose federation of former intelligence operatives all working with one goal. The removal of Arvin Sloane."

"So how exactly do a bunch of former government employees afford things like private jets?" Willow asked.

"A good spy knows two things, where to hide bodies and money," Jack said. "And a great spy knows were to find both. In the aftermath of SD-6's destruction a number of bank accounts slipped through the cracks. Those accounts formed the seed money for our organization. There is a certain appeal to using Arvin Sloane's money against him."

"How did you find out about the connection between the First and Sloane?" Sydney asked.

"We had inside help," Jack said. The cockpit door opened and Julian Sark walked into the cabin.

"Hello Sydney," Sark said. "It's good to see you again."

Sydney glared at her father, "Dad, what the hell is he doing here?"

"Mr. Sark came to me a year ago and offered his services," Jack said.

"I had a change of heart you see," Sark said. "Sloane is out of control and needs to be stopped. I figured your father was the person who could best achieve that goal."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Sydney said. "After all that you've done."

"Wait, who's the Brit?" Buffy asked.

"That's Julian Sark," Weiss whispered in Buffy's ear. ''He used to work for Sloane, and before that he was one of Sydney's mother's lieutenants."

"So he's not a nice guy?" Willow asked.

''Not in the slightest," Weiss agreed.

"Too bad, he's kind of cute,'' Buffy observed.

"Cute if you go in for arrogant Brits badly in need of a tan," Weiss replied.

Willow opened her mouth to say something. "Not a word Will," Buffy warned

"Mr. Sark has had several opportunities to betray the Trust and elected not to do so," Jack said. "I don't trust him either, but he is a useful asset."

"Sark only serves one master, himself," Sydney said. "I won't forget that."

"At least I am consistent," Sark said. "Besides, what is the point of taking over the world if there is no world to conquer."

Buffy slumped in her seat, "The First never gets tired of trying to kick-start the Apocalypse. It really needs to find a new hobby."

"Like needlepoint," Willow said. "Except the lack of corporeal form might be a problem there."

"End the world?" Sydney asked. "Are you sure?"

"Oh yes, very. The combination of the death of his wife and what I can only imagine is the corrupting influence of the First Evil has driven Arvin quite mad. He and the First are currently working to bring about the destruction of the world. I don't know how, I was not privy to that information before I left his employ."

"When?" Buffy asked.

"Soon," Jack said, "but we don't know anymore than that. We have assets within the CIA keeping us apprised of the situation."

"What about Vaughn?" Sydney asked.

"We haven't forgotten him, nor are we going to leave him," Jack said. "A plan is already being formulated to stage his rescue."

"I want in," Sydney said.

"I anticipated you would feel that way and already accounted for you in the planning," Jack said. "Your newfound abilities will prove useful."

"I want in as well," Buffy said. "Like you said, this involves me as well as you guys. If Sloane wants a Slayer then he'll get one, right up his ass."

"Slayers are something Sloane has no shortage of," Sark said. "Though none as talented as you Miss Summers."

"What do you mean Sloane has Slayers?" Buffy demanded.

"You don't really think you managed to find all the newly activated Slayers did you? Sloane has had his own people scouring the world for them. He has enough to form a small cadre of operatives. Really you've been quite a boon to covert organizations the world over. Everyone has wanted a Slayer or two on the payroll, and now they can."

Buffy glared at Sark, "You know, I already want to toss you out of the plane. You're not off to what I'd call a good start with a person who can snap you like a twig."

"Miss Summers, you should know that my worth to the Trust makes your threats hollow at best."

"I don't work for the Trust now do I?" Buffy said.

"There's nothing I find more arousing than a domineering blonde," Sark said.

"Trust me, I'm more than you could handle," Buffy said.

"Are you finished?" Jack said, cutting off Sark's reply. "I understand there is the potential for friction here," Sydney glanced over at Lauren, who was sitting quietly in the back of the plane. "but we all have to work together in order to have any hope of defeating Sloane."

Sark nodded and took the seat next to Jack. He kept his gaze fixed on Buffy who pointedly ignored him.

"What got you all riled?" Willow asked Buffy in a quiet voice.

"There's just something about that guy Will, I don't trust him."

"He does seem to be quite a Smarmadon," Willow agreed. "Are you sure you know what you've gotten us into?"

"Honestly? I don't. Then again, when has that stopped us before?"

* * *

-Chicago

"Nice digs," Buffy said as Jack lead them into the Trust's headquarters.

"It's an abandoned CIA operations center much like the one in LA," Jack said. "It has the infrastructure we need to run our operations."

"Not to mention who'd look for the rebel spy guys in the heart of downtown Chicago," Willow said.

"Yeah, I thought we were going to some abandoned missile silo in North Dakota," Buffy said. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Do not assume that just because we're well hidden Sloane cannot find us," Jack said. "The members of our organization are already under tremendous scrutiny simply because of who they are. If Sloane were to learn of the existence of the Trust he would stop at nothing to erase it from existence."

"What sort of security do you have in place?" Sydney asked.

"For starters very few of our members are actually based here." Lauren said. "Most maintain cover jobs across the country and communicate with us through dead drops and coded transmissions."

"The only people here are the ones in the 'inner circle' as it were," Weiss added. "Individuals we trust implicitly."

"And who are constantly tested to ensure they remain loyal," Jack said.

"And if they aren't?" Buffy asked.

"We are in a life or death struggle Miss Summers," Jack said. "If I get caught I don't expect Arvin Sloane to show me any mercy so neither should his people."

"You are a very scary man. You know that, right?" Buffy said.

"We simply do what we must, no more, no less."

"This looks familiar," Sydney said.

"It should, this facility was the basis for the design of SD-6 headquarters," Jack said.

"All that work to bring down the Alliance and here I am, back on the outside looking in," Sydney mused.

"Life is full of little ironies," Lauren said.

Sydney glanced over at Lauren. "I suppose you could say that," she said coolly.

"You could also say that the fact I have to rely on you to get my husband back is dreadfully ironic," Lauren paused. "Excuse me, I have another matter to attend to."

"Well that was catty," Buffy said.

"As you might imagine Miss Reed is not pleased with your return given your past history with Mr. Vaughn," Jack said.

"How did that happen?" Sydney asked Weiss. The pair slowed down and let the others go on ahead.

"Vaughn didn't run out and get married if that's what you're wondering," Weiss said. "He moped around for almost a year after we thought you died."

"Where did they meet?"

"At a covert operative survivor's support meeting, Lauren's boyfriend was killed on a mission for the NSA. They comforted each other, and well, you know how the story goes."

"Yeah," Sydney said. "Is he happy?"

"Happiness is a relative term. He's happier than he was that's for sure, but he's never been the same since you left Syd. Lauren's been good for him, she might even have saved his life."

"If you're trying to make this easier for me you're not doing a good job," Sydney replied.

"Which would you rather, Vaughn dead or Vaughn alive and married? He needed to move on with his life."

"But where does that leave me?"

"Alive, which is a hell of a lot better off than what you were," Weiss said.

Sydney smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks Weiss."

"That's what I'm here for. So what do you think, do I have a shot with Buffy? Don't hold back, tell it to me straight."

"Honestly, you don't stand a chance," Sydney said. "But don't let me stop me you," she added.

"I guess I'll have to rely on the patented Weiss charm."

"The Weiss charm?"

"Yeah, I'll just pester her until I get pity-sex. It's never failed in the past."

Sydney laughed, "Don't sell yourself short. You're a good guy Eric, and Buffy could do a lot worse."

"That's not exactly a ringing endorsement," Weiss noted.

"At least you're still breathing," Sydney said.

"How's that?" Weiss asked as he led Sydney towards a conference room.

"I'll tell you later," Sydney replied as Weiss pushed open the door and they entered the room.

* * *

-Washington, DC

"My sources have confirmed that Sydney and the Trust have united," Sloane told the First.

"You're playing a risky game Arvin," The First said. "The Bristows have beaten you before."

"They only won when it suited me," Sloane said. "I admit it was a shock to learn that they were the CIA moles, but everything went according to my plan. This is no different, though I did not anticipate Sydney's return, I thought you said you were going to take care of her permanently."

"There are powerful forces on both sides of this game Arvin and it seems that someone, or something, has decided to put Sydney Bristow back into play."

"To what end?"

"Presumably to put the Rambaldi prophecies back on course."

"We can't let that happen," Sloane said.

"Obviously, so what do you suggest?"

Sloane leaned back in his chair, "We continue as planned. We know the Trust will try to rescue Vaughn, and that Sydney will be a part of that rescue attempt."

"You really think your pet Slayer will be able to do the job?"

"No, of course not. Faith has proven quite resistant to anything that remotely hints of assassination. But a sniper's bullet will kill a Slayer as quickly as anyone else. There will be a team in place to attend to both Sydney Bristow and Buffy Summers."

"Summers?" The First asked.

"Oh yes, didn't I mention. My sources tell me that Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg have also joined the Trust. I'm sure they will be involved in the attempt to rescue Vaughn."

"Have you told Faith?"

"No, it would only confuse the matter with her." Sloane held up a hand to forestall the First's inevitable comment. "I know, it's a risk, but if everything goes as planned Faith will be ours and neither Sydney Bristow or Buffy Summers will bother us again."

"And if Faith turns on us?"

Sloane shrugged, "We have other Slayers. Faith has always been a stopgap until Phase Two is ready. If we have to push that timeframe up a little so be it."

The First smiled, "I knew recruiting you was a smart move, you are without a doubt the cleverest minion l have ever had."

Sloane stirred uncomfortably in his chair. "You flatter me."

"Does that make you uncomfortable, calling you my minion?" The First loomed over Sloane forcing him to stare into his dead wife's eyes. "It's the truth Arvin, I own you and never forget that."

Sloane never flinched, "I also won't forget that you need me in order for your plan to come to fruition." Sloane waved his hand through the First to prove his point. "So if you're through posturing I have to brief the President on Iran." Sloane stood up and walked out of his office.

-to be continued-

* * *

-end notes: I found this finished on my hard drive and decided to post. I'll see what I can do about finishing up the last three chapters.

-sam, 2/15/2006


	5. Chapter 4

Finally Woken: An Alias/Buffy crossover

by: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: What if Sydney Bristow's disappearance was due to a more sinister and supernatural force? (Alias Season 3 AU)

Spoilers: Season 2/3 Alias, Post-BtVS

Disclaimer: All characters from _Buffy_ and _Angel_ are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from _Alias_ are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: Just a bit of fun that's been percolating in my brain for a year or so. I'm sorry to have to say this, but for a firm grasp of the backstory here I suggeset you read my earlier stories The Ghosts That Haunt Me and God Shuffled His Feet. They setup the how and why of this tale to a large degree. Though I hope the work will stand on its own.

* * *

Finally Woken: Chapter Four

Inside the conference room Sydney saw her father talking to two men standing with their backs to her. They turned when they heard Sydney enter the room and she saw the familiar faces of Dixon and Marshall.

The pair rushed over to Sydney. Marshall reached her first and enveloped her in an enormous bearhug. "Oh Sydney, it's so good to see you again. I knew you weren't dead, I ran the DNA samples so many times and they all said the same thing, that it was you, but I knew it wasn't true."

"Thanks Marshall, I'm glad I'm not dead as well," she said with a smile. "Now would you mind letting go, I'm having a hard time breathing."

Marshall took a quick step back, his face turning red. "Oh, sorry, I just got excited."

Dixon stepped forward and hugged Sydney. He was more restrained than Marshall, but Sydney could feel just as much, if not more, emotion from him. "It's good to have you back Sydney."

"I'm glad to be back," she told her old partner. "It looks like we're back where we started," she said with a small laugh.

Dixon smiled. "Except this time we know we're on the right side."

Jack cleared his throat, "As soon as you're ready we can begin."

Everyone sat down at the conference table. "As you all known Sydney reappeared in Hong Kong several days ago," Jack said to the room. "At the time we have no idea why or how. Vaughn was sent to retrieve Sydney before Sloane. He was unsuccessful. Thanks to Irina Derveko's intervention Sydney was freed, but Vaughn remains in custody." Sydney noticed that Lauren glared at her when Jack mentioned that. "It goes without saying that we are going to get Vaughn back. He knows too much about the Trust's operation status to let him remain in Sloane's possession."

"Sloane must know that," Dixon pointed out.

"I fully expect we will be walking into a trap," Jack agreed.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Sydney muttered.

"Ms. Summers and Ms. Rosenberg have volunteered us their services for this mission and I have agreed. We have worked together in the past and they possess talents that should prove most useful."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Lauren asked.

"Ms. Reed you weren't around at the time, but rest assured, both Buffy and Willow could flay you before you had a chance to react," Sydney said tersely. Buffy smirked at Sydney's comment while Willow stared at her shoes. Lauren and Sydney locked their gaze for a long, and uncomfortable, moment

"So what's the plan?" Weiss asked Jack to break the tension in the room.

"Vaughn is being held in a CIA max security facility outside of San Diego. The plan is to infiltrate the prison, free Vaughn, and get away."

"Sounds simple enough," Buffy quipped.

"Ms. Rosenberg, I would like you to work with Marshall to devise a means of defeating the prison's security system."

Willow nodded, "I'll try."

"Sydney, Lauren, you two will take the lead on entering the prison. Buffy, I want you to watch the perimeter. Dixon and Weiss will monitor the operation and provide the escape vehicle. Marshall will provide OpTech. Your plane will depart for California as soon as Marshall breaks into their security."

"Great," Buffy said. "I hate all that unnecessary waiting around."

* * *

"So how exactly are we going to disable this prison's security system?" Willow asked Marshall when they were in Marshall's lab. She was amazed at the quantity of high tech gear strewn about the lab space.

"I don't know exactly, the prison's system is cut off from the outside world so we can't hack in."

"But there must be someway in, they have to talk to the outside world to let them know if anybody tries to break in."

"Sure, but it only talks to the outside world when it detects an intrusion attempt, and since we're trying to intrude it doesn't seem like a good idea to alert them to what we're doing."

"What if we did just that?" Willow asked, an idea began to form in her mind. "There have to be false alarms, right?"

"Sure, happens to every system. It barks a warning to the outside security force and somebody checks it out…" Marshall's voice trailed off as he realized what Willow was getting at. "So when the system is talking to the outside world we inject a timed virus that will take down the system. Brilliant!"

"You could also poke a hole in their firewall and use it to monitor the prison remotely," Willow pointed out.

"Willow, you're a genius! Marry me?" Marshall blurted out.

"Uh, thanks, but I think my girlfriend would complain about that," Willow stuttered.

Marshall's face turned beat red when he realized what he had said. "You're right, my pregnant fiancée would probably object too. Sorry, I got a little excited there."

"You don't say. You know there won't be much time to inject the virus after the alarm gets tripped, and we'd have to have a tap on the prison's outside line,"

"It's hard, but not impossible," Marshall said, brushing aside Willow's doubts. "I've got most of a working virus ready, but it will take some tweaking. You any good with firewall code?"

"I've been hacking since I was in high school. I have yet to meet a firewall yet that I can't penetrate," Willow boasted.

"Please don't be offended, but that's the single hottest thing I've ever heard," Marshall said in awe.

"And that is one of the creepiest things I've ever heard, no offense."

Marshall shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Right, let's just…work on that virus, ok?"

"Right, and remember, me lesbian."

"That doesn't actually help," Marshall admitted.

"I can kill you with my mind."

"Right, working."

* * *

Faith walked down the prison hallway. The cell bock was deserted with the exception of a single cell at the end of the hall. Faith came to a stop in front of the cell and rapped on the clear polycarbonate door. "Wakey wakey," she called out.

Vaughn lifted his head off the bunk, "Who are you?"

"My name's Faith and I'll be you jailor tonight."

"I'm not going to tell you anything about the Trust," Vaughn said.

Faith laughed. "Honey, I'm not here to interrogate you. See I'm not interested in your stupid little club. You're just bait. It's your gal pal Sydney I want."

Vaughn bit his tongue, he knew Jack would probably send a rescue team, and he also knew that Sydney would undoubtedly be a part of the team. "So if you aren't going to torture me why are you here?"

Faith slid a keycard through a card reader and the cell door swung open. "I didn't say anything about not torturing you, I'm just not going to ask you any questions."

"It wouldn't make any difference if I told you that Sloane was lying to you?" Vaughn asked.

"Considering that you're the traitor, no, not really," Faith replied as the cell door swung shut.

* * *

"What's going on?" Buffy asked as she followed Jack and Sydney into Marshall's lab.

"Marshall says that he and Ms. Rosenberg have figured out a way to subvert the prison's security system," Jack explained.

"Hey, go us," Buffy said.

"Buffy, check this place out," Willow said excitedly. "If Andrew saw some of this stuff he'd…well I'd rather not think about what he'd do actually."

"Andrew?" Sydney asked.

"Friend of ours," Buffy explained.

"Marshall," Jack called out. "Are we ready?"

Marshall looked up from the computer screen he was staring at. "What, oh, Mr. Bristow. Yes, were just about ready."

"Mind filling us in on what you're up to?" Buffy asked Marshall.

"Well, as you know the security system for this prison is incredibly secure. Under normal circumstances it's totally cut off from the outside world so, no hacking. But Willow reminded me that the system has to talk to somebody whenever the alarm's triggered, otherwise, what's the point of an alarm, right?"

"So we trigger a false alarm and you make with the computer voodoo?" Buffy asked.

"That's what we thought originally," Willow replied.

"If the prison even gets a false alarm their security will be stepped up for twenty-four hours," Jack said. "The prison's administrator considers it a good training opportunity."

"Yes, exactly," Marshall said. "Fortunately for us there's another way." He reached down onto his desk and pulled out a stack of printouts. "We were analyzing router traffic coming out of the prison, phone conversations, Internet traffic, stuff like that, when we found this." He pointed at a line on the page expecting the others to follow where he was going. "It's the security system. Once a day it barks a system status to the listening post. All we have to do is inject our virus when it's doing its daily update."

Sydney looked at the printout. "I don't know Marshall, that seems like an awfully small window."

"It's tricky, but we can do it," Willow said confidently.

An egg timer next to Marshall started to ring, causing him to jump. "It's time," he announced as he rushed over to a computer terminal. "Ready Willow?" He asked.

Willow flipped open her laptop. "Ready."

"Ok, the window opens in five, four, three, two, one." Marshall and Willow simultaneously started to type furiously. "We're in," Marshall announced.

"So they did it?" Buffy asked.

"That was the easy part Buffy," Willow replied, not looking up from her screen. "Now we have to inject our virus into the security system's code."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not talking would be nice," Willow admitted. "This is kind of tricky."

"Got it!" Marshall exclaimed. "We have control of their security systems."

"Is there a chance they'll notice?" Jack asked.

"It would take a month of debugging to find our backdoor," Marshall said confidently. "The only catch is that we can only observe. The moment we try to make it do anything it'll set off traps from here to DC."

"Still nice to know we have a plan B," Sydney said. "Good work Marshall, Willow."

"Thanks," Marshall replied, beaming from ear to ear.

Jack turned and face Buffy and Sydney. "The operation is a go. Plan to leave within the hour."

* * *

Sydney sat onboard the Trust plane flying to California staring out the window. She glanced over and saw Lauren sitting down next to her. "Hello, we haven't gotten a chance to talk since you arrived and now seemed to be as good a time as any."

"What do you want to talk about?" Sydney asked.

"Michael, obviously," Lauren replied. "I know this must seem very sudden to you, but believe me when I tell you that it was very hard on Michael. It took him a long time to come to grips with your presumed death and he only recently started to move on with his life."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm sure you still love him, and I'm fairly certain Michael still loves you as well."

"But he's married to you so keep my hands off?"

Lauren smiled briefly. "I wouldn't put it so bluntly as that."

"It's not my intention to be a homewrecker," Sydney said. "But at the moment I still haven't gotten my bearings straight on anything so I can't even begin to think about Vaughn as anything other than our mission objective."

Lauren nodded. "Yes, of course, retrieving Michael is our first priority, we can deal with the rest after we rescue him." She paused for a moment. "Just know this, I love him as much as you do, and I do not intend to give him up."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sydney replied.

"I'm sure you will. I'm sorry, I'm coming off as overly territorial aren't I?" Lauren said.

Sydney smiled nervously, "A little bit yeah."

"I'm sorry, that's not my intention. I would rather like for us to be friends, or at least friendly. It does no one any good if we cannot get along."

"No, that's alright, I understand where you're coming from."

"For what it's worth I'm glad you are not dead." Lauren stood up and walked back to her seat.

Buffy slid into the seat Lauren vacated. "How are you holding up?"

Sydney looked over at Buffy. "I'll survive, but this all is rather...overwhelming."

"I know what you mean, when I came back from the dead -- the second time that is -- it felt like the whole world had passed me by, and I was only gone for a few months. For you it must be like waking up on a different planet."

"It's had its challenges," Sydney said with a glance over in Lauren's direction.

"Just so you know Willow and I talked it over, and we're both willing to hate her for you."

"What?"

"You can't hate her, that would make things too awkward with Vaughn, and make you look incredibly catty. Willow and I on the other hand are free to do all the hating you can't."

"That's a sweet offer, strange, but sweet. No, we don't have time to be petty. Maybe later, if, when, we get Vaughn back, but not right now."

"You can't hold it all in like this you know," Buffy said. "You have to let things out sooner or later."

"And what good would that do?" Sydney snapped. "Right now the best thing I can do is focus on something I can control, like this mission. If I don't do that I'm liable to wind up huddled under a chair crying, and that won't help Vaughn very much."

Buffy reached out and touched Sydney's shoulder. "Just promise me that after this you take a step back. Believe me when I say you can't put off dealing with things like this."

Sydney smiled faintly. "I'll try, and Buffy, thanks."

"We're a small sorority so we have to look out for each other."

"What Slayers?"

"That too, but I was thinking formerly dead girls."

"Was that really where I was, dead?"

Buffy shrugged, "Dead, alternate dimension, in the end does it really make a difference?"

"It does to me," Sydney insisted. "I have to know."

"Then we'll figure it out, no big. Rescue Vaughn, stop Sloane and the First, and figure out what happened to you. So what do you want to do next week?"

A smile sketched itself across Sydney's face. "When you put it like that how hard can it be?"

* * *

Sark knocked on the door to Jack's office. "Yes?" Jack asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"I just wanted to inform you that the plane has arrived in California. The extraction team should be onsite within the hour."

Jack nodded. "Thank-you, I'll be down to the operations center shortly."

"Jack, I don't mean to be a naysayer, but are you sure it's wise to involve Summers and Rosenberg in this operation? I know you have a history with them, but it seems like you're adding an unnecessary layer of risk."

"I trust the Slayer and her friend as much as I trust Sydney," Jack replied. "They certainly have no love for Sloane, and even less for the First. We're lucky to have them."

"Yes, about that, again, I didn't want to say it, but someone should. How do we know we can trust Sydney? She vanishes suddenly, only to reappear as if out of thin air two years later. Don't you think it's a little risky sending her out on such an important assignment before we verified that it actually is her?"

Jack glared at Sark. "I know my daughter, and that is Sydney."

"Jack, your impartiality in this matter is, how shall I put it, compromised?"

"Mr. Sark, do you really think I am that incompetent?" He tossed a sheet of paper on the desk in front of Sark. "My asset within the CIA provided me with a copy of the blood work the Agency ran on Sydney while she was their captive. It proves conclusively that she is Sydney Bristow, and not an imposter."

Sark picked up the lap report and glanced it over. "One of these days Jack you will have to share with me who your source is. He always provides such excellent intelligence."

"No, I don't. Now if there is anything else I'll be in the command center." Jack stood up and brushed past Sark on his way out of the office.

-to be continued-

* * *

author's notes: Chapter Four in the bag. Chapter Five is almost halfway done, and Chapter Six is the end. And maybe then I can finish off Friday Afternoon in the Universe. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

-sam 3/6/2005


End file.
